Foot Support

ABSTRACT

The foot support includes a sloped draining surface, a non-skid base, and a number of sides connecting the sloped draining surface to the non-skid base.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

There are no applications related to this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

No invention claimed in this application was made under Federallysponsored research or development.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The foot support is a device for holding a user's foot in an elevatedposition while standing and shaving, washing or performing ablutions onthe user's leg in a shower, bath, or other facility.

2. Description of Related Art

Attempts to provide a secure foot support for various purposes whichdepend upon support from walls or sides of showers or baths are known inthe art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,182,532 to Bentz, and 3,193,848 to Levy aretypical of this approach.

Another approach to solving the problam of safety in the bath is tocreate a roughly triangular foot support which fits into the corner ofthe tub or bath. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,396,413 to Kaufman, and 4,489,448 toCairo are typical of this approach.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foot support includes a sloped draining surface, a non-skid base,and a number of sides connecting the sloped draining surface to saidnon-skid base. One or more of the sides may combine with the slopeddraining surface and non-skid base to form a hollow structure. One ormore of the sides may include an opening which permits communicationbetween the interior and exterior of the hollow structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the foot support.

FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the invention with interlocking tabs.

FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the invention slide ably connected.

FIG. 4 is a fourth embodiment of the invention with living hinges.

FIG. 5 is a fifth embodiment of the invention mechanical hinges.

FIG. 6 is a sixth embodiment of the invention pivotally connected.

FIG. 7 is a seventh embodiment of the invention, with legs, verticallystacked.

FIG. 8 is a eighth embodiment of the invention, with legs, verticallystacked.

FIG. 9 is a ninth embodiment of the invention conically single sided.

FIG. 10 is a side view taken from FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a tenth embodiment of the invention cylindrically singlesided.

FIG. 12 is bottom view taken from FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a foot support in use in a bathtub.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the invention in use in a shower.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foot support 1 comprises: a sloped draining surface 2, a non-skidbase 3, and a plurality of sides 4 connecting the sloped drainingsurface 2 to said non-skid base 3. One or more of the sides 4 combinewith the sloped draining surface 2 and non-skid base 3 to form a hollowstructure 5. One or more of the sides 4 may include an opening 6 whichpermits communication between the interior 7 and exterior 8 of thehollow structure 5.

The sloped draining surface 2 may further comprise one or more non-skidelements 9 including, but not limited to, patches, paints, or decorativesurface features. The sloped surface is inherently a draining surfacedue to its sloped nature. In some embodiments the sloped nature of thesloped draining surface 2 derives from the sloped draining surface 2being non-level when the foot support 1 is placed on the sloped floor ofa shower 11 or bathtub 10. The sloped nature of the sloped drainingsurface 2 may also be a result of the shape of the sides 4 or lengths ofthe legs 19. However, the draining nature of the sloped draining surface2 may be enhanced by holes 12, channels 13, or other featuresincorporated in the sloped draining surface 2. The non-skid base 3 maybe created of metal, plastic, wood or any material, or combination ofmaterials, suitable for use in an alternately wet and dry environment.The non-skid base 3 may be made of, or include, elements which are ofany material which exhibits a relatively high coefficient of frictionwhen wet as well as when dry.

The sides 4 may be constructed of any material suitable for use in analternatively wet and dry environment. One or more of the sides 4 may berigidly connected, slideably connected 23, or pivotally connected 24, toone or more of the other one or more sides 4 by any suitable meansincluding, but not limited to, hinges 22, living hinges 22, welding,fusing, nails, screws, one or more adhesives, tape, interlocking tabs24, or double sided tape. One or more of the sides 4 may be rigidlyconnected, slideably connected 23, or pivotally connected 24, to slopeddraining surface 2 by any suitable means including, but not limited to,hinges 22, welding, fusing, nails, screws, one or more adhesives,interlocking tabs 24, tape, or double sided tape. One or more of thesides 4 may be rigidly connected, slideably connected 23, or pivotallyconnected 24, to the non-skid base 3 by any suitable means including,but not limited to, hinges 22, welding, fusing, nails, screws, one ormore adhesives, interlocking tabs 24, tape, or double sided tape.

The foot support 1 may be configured for efficient stacking. In oneembodiment the non-skid base 3 may include a large opening 6sufficiently large to permit the sloped draining surface 2 to enter thehollow space 14 within the foot support 1. In another embodiment theopening 6 in one or more of the sides 4 may be of such a size as topermit another foot support 1 to enter the hollow formed by the sides 4,non-skid base 3 and sloped draining surface 2.

The foot support 1 may be comprised of a sloped draining surface 2, anon-skid base 3 a single side 15 connecting the sloped draining surface2 to said non-skid base 3. In this embodiment the single side 15 may becylindrical 16, conical 17, or frustro-conical 18. All the conditionsand options described thus far apply to this embodiment to the extentpossible.

In another embodiment the foot support 1 may be comprised of; aplurality of non-skid feet 18, a plurality of legs 19 and a slopeddraining surface 2. The sloped draining surface 2 is as described above.In this embodiment the each non skip foot 18 is attached to one of theplurality of legs 19. The plurality of non-skid feet 18 may be made of,or include, elements which are of any material which exhibits arelatively high coefficient of friction when wet as well as when dry.Non-skid feet 18 may be implemented by a suitable configuration of thebottom edge of the leg 19. Each of the legs 19 connect the slopeddraining surface 2 to one of said non-skid feet 18. At least one of saidplurality of legs 19 may be sloped to facilitate stacking. The legs maybe constructed of any material suitable for use in an alternatively wetand dry environment.

In yet another embodiment two or more sides 4 of the foot support 1 maybe attached to each other to form a leg 19 to which a non-skid foot 18may be attached. Alternatively legs 19 may be formed from a side 4 byproviding a single attachment edge of the side 4 for attachment to thesloped draining surface 2 and formed into a plurality of legs 19 at theedge of the side opposite to the single attachment edge.

In yet another embodiment the non-skip surface 3 may be implemented by asuitable configuration of the lower edge or edges of one or more of thesides 4.

The foot support 1 may be used to support a user's foot 20 while in theshower 11 or bathtub 10 to facilitate user leg 21 care, such as shaving,washing, applying ointment, or treating minor injuries such as shavingcuts. It will be appreciated that the uses stated herein are exemplaryand in no way limit the uses to which the foot support 1 may be put. Itwill also be appreciated that the embodiments described herein areexemplary and represent only some of the ways in which a foot support 1may be constructed.

I claim:
 1. A foot support comprising: a) a sloped draining surface; b)a non-skid base; and c) a plurality of sides connecting the slopeddraining surface to said non-skid base.
 2. The foot support of claim 1wherein one or more of the sides opens into a cavity formed by thesloped draining surface, the non-skid base, and plurality of sides. 3.The foot support of claim 1 wherein the sloped draining surface furthercomprises non-skid elements.
 4. The foot support of claim 1 wherein thefoot support is configured for efficient stacking.
 5. A foot supportcomprising: a) a sloped draining planar surface; b) a non-skid base; andc) a single side connecting the sloped draining surface to said non-skidbase.
 6. The foot support of claim 5 wherein the single side is circularin cross section.
 7. The foot support of claim 5 wherein the single sideis frustro-conical in cross section.
 8. The foot support of claim 5wherein the sloped draining surface further comprises non-skid elements.9. The foot support of claim 5 wherein the foot support is configuredfor efficient stacking.
 10. A foot support comprising: a) a slopeddraining planar surface; b) a plurality of non-skid feet; and c) aplurality of legs, each of said legs connecting the sloped drainingsurface to one of said non-skid feet, at least one of said plurality oflegs sloped to facilitate stacking.
 11. The foot support of claim 10wherein said legs are formed by connection of at least two sides. 12.The foot rest of claim 11 wherein at least one said sides is sloped tofacilitate stacking.